LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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THE GALLOP ABOUT A LANCE. 



Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

A METHOD OF TRAINING YOUNG HORSES 
FOR THE CAVALRY SERVICE, 

AND 

FOR GENERAL USE UNDER THE SADDLE. 



BY 



EDWARD L. 'ANDERSON, 



AUTHOR OF MODERN HORSEMANSHIP. 






Ullustrateti bg &I)trtgsttoa ^fjotograpfjs from tfje ittfe. 






BOSTON: 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. 

EDINBURGH : 5 D AVID DOUGLAS. 

1894. 




o 



Copyright, 1894, 
By Little, Brown, & Company. 



SKnttorgitg Press: 

John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A. 



PREFACE 



^T^HIS little work has been written especially 
■*■ with a view of presenting a method of 
training horses for the use of mounted soldiers ; 
but there is nothing herein recommended that 
would not be important, if not absolutely neces- 
sary, for the education of any horse intended for 
the saddle. 

How long it would take to carry a horse 
through the course I have laid down would 
depend upon the age, strength, and disposition 
of each horse. The lessons might extend from 
the time the colt is weaned until it is four years 
old ; or a strong three-year-old, with two short 
lessons daily, might be thoroughly trained in 
three months. 



viii Preface. 

Five horses were brought before the camera 
for the illustration of the book. Silvana, now 
many years in service, was employed to explain 
the advanced exercises; Coquette, an English- 
bred mare, is represented in the frontispiece ; and 
three young horses which were photographed 
from the day the author took them in hand. 
These latter three had been broken to harness, 
and were quiet to handle, but had received no 
training such as they were then given, and they 
had all of the awkwardness and rigidity that 
could be desired. I have found that a horse 
wholly undisciplined is of but little service before 
the camera when certain positions are required. 
The photographs were taken by Rombach and 
Groene, of Cincinnati, and the half-tone repro- 
ductions were made by the Heliotype Printing 
Company, of Boston. 



CURB, SNAFFLE, AND SPUR. 



CONTENTS. 



fart I. 

IN THE SNAFFLE. 
Chapter Page 

I. Handling the Young Horse 15 

II. Riding the Young Horse 24 

III. Hand and Heel. — The Trot, the Walk, Changes 

of Direction 35 

IV. Suppling and Collecting. — The Union and 

Balance of the Forces 41 

V. Reversed Pirouettes, Low Pirouettes, Bending 

Head in Action. — Travers and Renvers . 54 

$art M. 

IN THE DOUBLE-REINED BRIDLE. 

I. The Union and Balance of the Forces. — In 

Hand, the Union, the Half-halt .... 69 
II. Indirect Indications of the Curb-Bit. — In the 

Double Bridle .78 

III. The Gallop. — The Gallop Changes 84 

IV. Trot and Gallop. — Travers and Renvers. — 

Pirouettes from Action. — Low Pirouettes. — 
The Pirouette Volte 96 



Contents. 



Chapter Page 

V. The Union without the Reins 104 

VI. The Halt from the Galop. — The use of the 

Spurs 107 

VII. Backing 112 

VIII. Jumping .117 

IX. Vices, Tricks, and Faults 125 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Page 

The Gallop about a Lance Frontispiece 

Rubbing the Colt with the Whip . . 22 

Elevation of Head 26 

Bending Head , . 29 

Carrying the Croup over the Forehand 33 

Elevation of the Head, mounted ........ 43 

Position of the Head . . 45 

Dropping Head 47 

Bending the Head, mounted 49 

Carrying the Hind Legs under the Body .... 51 

Carrying the Hind Legs under the Body .... 52 

Reversed Pirouette 55 

Applying Whip to the Near Flank 57 

Low Pirouette 59 

Travers 61 

Renvers 63 

In Hand, in the Trot 71 

United Trot -73 

Half-halt from the Trot js 

In Hand, in place 76 

Break into Gallop from Slow Trot 87 

Gallop Right 91 

Gallop Changes. — From Right to Left 93 



xii Illustrations. 



Page 

Pirouette Volte 99 

Union without Reins 104 

Union without Reins. Gallop 105 

Halt from the Gallop no 

Backing. The Impulse 113 

Backing 115 

Leading over the Bar 119 

Jumping in Hand 121 

The First Leap of a Young Horse 123 



pat* I. 

IN THE SNAFFLE. 



CURB, SNAFFLE, AND SPUR 



CHAPTER I. 

HANDLING THE YOUNG HORSE. 

IT must be understood at the outset that in the 
method of training presented in the following 
pages the object of the work described is to 
obtain immediate and exact control over the 
horse, through a kindly enforced discipline, in 
which nothing is left to the volition or willing 
obedience of the animal. The muscular actions 
which would impulsively follow the applications 
of the hand and heel are to be cultivated in the 
proper directions, so that the horse shall instinc- 
tively answer to the demands of its rider under all 
circumstances. We are not to depend upon the 
intelligence or the good-will of the animal, beyond 
acquiring its confidence to such an extent that 
its fears are not aroused by any movement the 
trainer may make; and neither whip nor spur 



1 6 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

should be used in punishment, — the correction 
of faults, whether voluntary or involuntary, being 
obtained by the control which will follow the true 
use of the aids. The horse should not be taught 
to regard any motions, words, or bugle-calls ; for 
it might obey such signals at inopportune times. 
The silent application of the aids is the proper 
manner for the rider to indicate his demands, and 
the horse will be the readier to obey if it be 
unused to preparatory signals. The trainer must 
soothe by kind tones the young horse in its early 
lessons, and he may correct it by a harsh voice ; 
but as soon as he acquires the confidence of the 
animal, and it begins to understand the bit and 
the spur, the man should conduct the lessons in 
silence, and depend upon the aids for enforcing 
his requirements. I know of nothing that seems 
to give such pleasure and such satisfaction to 
the horse as a slight relaxation upon the ten- 
sion of the reins, and an almost impercep- 
tible touch of the bridle-hand upon the crest, 
when the rider wishes to encourage or reward 
his mount. The horse very soon learns the 
meaning of this, and how to appreciate it ; and 
as long as it does not affect the speed, direc- 



Handling the Young Horse. 17 

tion, or carriage of the trained animal, I see 
nothing objectionable in it. This is the method 
followed by some of the best horsemen. One of 
these, a professional trainer, is so successful in 
his management of vicious horses, that I have 
frequently heard him say that he did not find 
anything wrong in certain animals which were 
turned over to his care as unruly by their 
owners. 

The education of the horse cannot be begun 
too early. There is no reason why a yearling 
should not be as thoroughly disciplined as an 
old-school horse, and the early training will last 
during the life of the animal. Training does not 
injuriously affect the vivacity or the spirit of the 
horse ; on the contrary, a cold-blooded drudge 
can be made active and mettlesome by a course 
of schooling. Witness Alidor, the horse em- 
ployed to furnish the photographs for the first 
edition of " Modern Horsemanship," a coarse, 
heavy colt, which was brought to perform the 
high-school movements with grace and precision. 
The mare which was used for most of the illus- 
trations in the present work, better bred than 
Alidor, is an example of the fact that a long 



iS Curd, Snaffle, and Spur. 

course of training is beneficial ; for at fifteen 
years she is full of life, mettle, and action, al- 
though a child might ride her. I wish to say 
here that there is one class of horses that it is 
useless to attempt to train or to use. These are 
such that from deficiency in cranial development, 
or from some lesion or injury to the brain, are 
subject to fits of terror and wild excitement ; for 
although even these may be taught to obey the 
aids, their attacks are frequently so sudden that 
the rider is in peril before he can attempt to 
obtain control. The outward. conformation some- 
times marks these animals, even to the inexperi- 
enced, and I have never known the small, pro- 
tuberant eye (known as the buck's eye) fail to 
give true warning that its possessor is a danger- 
ous and useless fool. 

With the young horse brought to the trainer 
already disciplined from its early days, or with the 
three-year-old simply halter-broken, we should 
proceed in the same manner, although in the 
first instance the preliminary lessons would be 
far shorter, and rather as a test to see how far 
the discipline had been carried. The cavesson 
(a leather head-collar with a jointed metal nose- 



Handling the Young Horse, 19 

band, having a ring at either side and one in 
front) will be placed upon the horse, a strong 
line, at least fifteen feet long, being attached to 
the metal nose-band ring. The animal should 
be led to some retired place, where there is 
sufficient ground upon which to conduct the 
exercises. A covered school is preferable for 
the whole work of training, as the man can then 
have the attention of the horse ; but wherever 
the work is carried on, there should be such 
quiet as can be had. It is true that a school- 
broken horse must be made acquainted with 
many strange and new sights when it is first 
taken out; but every young horse has to go 
through such experiences, and it is much easier 
to control the disciplined horse under these 
circumstances than the raw colt, which has not 
been taught to obey hand and heel. The man 
should be perfectly composed, and he should 
avoid doing anything that will arouse the fears 
of the horse. He should lead the colt in a 
circle of about thirty feet in diameter, first to 
one hand and then to the other, walking at 
its shoulder, and holding the line at about 
eighteen inches from the nose-ring. If the 



20 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

colt refuses to lead, as it probably will, the man 
must wait upon it. If he tries to force it to 
lead, the frightened animal will sulk, and all 
acknowledged resistances are to be avoided. 
It is likely that in a very short time it will 
become irksome to the colt to remain still, and 
at its first motion the trainer should let it move 
off, and encourage it as though the whole inci- 
dent had been in accordance with his desires. 
The trainer should, from time to time, stop the 
colt, and then make it resume its round. The 
trainer's aim from this time forth should be, 
that the colt shall not volunteer a movement ; 
or should it become necessary for him to take 
advantage of a voluntary movement after a 
refusal, the animal should be led to believe 
that it has really obeyed the man. During the 
circles, at the walk and at the halts, the man 
should handle the colt, as far as he can, without 
arousing its fears, — picking up its feet, patting 
it on various parts of its body, and rubbing the 
poll, never of course letting go of the line. 
The trainer will gradually lengthen his hold on 
the line, depending upon the behavior of the 
colt, until he has the animal walking about 



Handling the Young Horse. 21 

him at its full length. He will bring the colt 
to a halt by gently waving the line horizontally, 
and he should then go quietly up to the animal 
and make much of it. The colt must not be 
allowed to come in to the man, but should, as 
far as possible, be made to stop and stand in 
the path of the circle. If the colt moves off 
without permission, the man should bring it to 
a halt, and then demand that it move, so that, 
from the earliest lessons, it will learn to look 
to the man for orders. These lessons will 
interest and exercise the horse, and may be 
conducted as long as the trainer sees fit, provided 
he does not fatisrue the animal. When the colt 
will walk about the man quietly, and come to 
a halt as he requires it, the trainer may put it 
into a slow trot, using great care not to excite 
the colt or to permit it to go too rapidly. He 
should then teach it to come to a halt and 
turn about for a change of direction. During 
the longeing lessons the trainer should teach 
the horse to bear the whip, which should never 
be applied with any severity, a simple tap being 
all that should be given, and this touch will 
answer every requirement. The horse having 



22 



Citrb, Snaffle, and Spur. 



been taught to enjoy caresses, the rider should 
frequently pat and handle the animal while 
holding the short whip in his hand. Gradually 
he should habituate the horse to bear the whip 




RUBBING THE COLT WITH THE WHIP. 

as it is passed over various parts of the legs 
and body, and finally to move forward at a 
slight tap delivered upon the rump. The horse 
must not flinch at the motion or at the touch 
of the whip. A long whip should then be sub- 



Handling the Young Horse. 23 

stituted for the riding-rod, and the trainer 
should use it with great discretion in stimulating 
the horse, by light touches given against the 
sides, or by striking the ground in rear of the 
animal, to increased speed and action on the 
longeing circles, it of course being understood 
that the rate of speed on the longeing circles 
should always be moderate. Should the horse 
be too eager or too much excited to obey the 
horizontal waves of the longe-line when the 
trainer wishes to reduce the speed or to demand 
a halt, a series of motions of the line up and 
down, with a strong pull on the line as it 
comes down, will have the greatest effect upon 
the cavesson ; but this severe use of the longe- 
line is to be avoided. The exercises upon the 
longe will be continued until the horse is given 
sufficient work under the saddle ; and during 
these, the trainer cannot use too much caution 
in securing the horse from fright or excitement. 



CHAPTER II. 

RIDING THE YOUNG HORSE. 

A CERTAIN amount of discipline having 
been established while upon the cavesson, 
and the young horse having found that there 
is nothing to dread in the approach or in the 
touch of its master, we arrive at the most impor- 
tant, and not the least difficult, part of the 
education of the animal. The manner in which 
the colt is tauoht to bear its rider will have 
a very marked influence upon its future useful- 
ness ; but any man of ordinary intelligence 
should be able to make the colt quiet to ride, 
if he be patient and firm. The horse should 
be saddled with care, the girths being but 
moderately tight, and the stirrups arranged so 
that they shall not touch the sides of the horse. 
The horse must now be taught something of 
the effects of the bit. I find that this, and some 
other matters connected with the general prog- 



Riding the Young Horse. 25 

ress of the training, can be accomplished very 
readily by the trainer driving the horse before 
him for a few times, a pair of light long lines 
being run through the loops on the surcingle 
to an easy snaffle-bit. The horse should be 
driven in circles and upon straight lines, being 
frequently brought to a halt and then started 
forward, the trainer using as little force on 
the bit as is possible, and employing a long 
straight whip with caution. If at any time the 
animal kicks or rushes forward, it should be 
corrected by a sharp pull upon the reins. I 
have seen horses made confirmed kickers by 
the application of the whip as a corrective 
measure, and by the use of whip blows the 
horse may be taught to kick when it is even 
threatened. The horse that kicks must be 
corrected by having its head thrown up ; and 
any horse can be taught to bear the whip, prop- 
erly used, by gradual lessons, without flinching 
or resentment. During the halts in these lessons, 
the trainer should from time to time loosen and 
tighten the girths to accustom the horse to such 
handling, and he should occasionally bear some 
weight with his arms upon the saddle. The 



26 



Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 



trainer should induce the horse to submit to 
be driven with the stirrups let out to the full 
length of the leathers, and dangling against the 
sides, and to bear the flapping of cloths over 




ELEVATION OF HEAD. 



any part of its body or legs. I may say here 
that it is difficult to give these lessons when the 
horse is annoyed by flies or other insects, as 
the animal is apt to kick at the application of 
whip or heel under such circumstances. 



Riding the Young Horse. 27 

In mounting the colt for the first time the 
trainer should select an occasion when, after some 
gentle exercise, the animal is composed and con- 
fident. He should see that the snaffle-bridle 
is in good order, that it fits the head and mouth 
without discomfort, and that the saddle is properly 
and strongly girthed. If he has reason to believe 
that the horse will make violent resistances, he 
can insure his seat by having a rolled blanket 
strapped to the pommel of the saddle ; but it is an 
exceptional horse that will give trouble, if its edu- 
cation has been conducted on the lines recom- 
mended. In riding a young or difficult horse for 
the first time, I prefer to have a leg up from an 
assistant ; for in that way the rider can quietly 
obtain his seat before the animal can prevent, and 
this is a moral victory which the colt will under- 
stand. Should the trainer elect to mount in the 
usual way, he must take care that he does not 
irritate the horse by a thrust of the left toe, and 
that he does not strike the rump as he carries the 
right leg over. Once in the saddle, he should let 
the colt walk off as quietly as it will, the reins 
just taking a bearing upon the animal's mouth, 
and his heels away from its flanks. In this first 



2 8 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

lesson the man should do very little beyond 
letting the colt go quietly forward in a walk. 
Unless something frightens the animal, it is not 
probable that it will show any misconduct. If, 
after a few minutes, all goes well, the rider should 
quietly dismount, and resume the exercises upon 
the longe-line. Upon the second time of mount- 
ing, the same precaution should be taken ; and on 
each succeeding dav the time during which the 
man is on the colt's back may be gradually 
extended, depending upon its strength and con- 
duct. Perhaps on the fourth or fifth time that it 
is mounted, the novelty of the situation having 
worn off, the colt may take notice of surrounding 
things, and if an excuse may be found in a bark- 
ing dog, a flying bird, or some such matter, it 
may pretend to be frightened, and give a few 
plunges. If the rider will gently keep up its head, 
and let it go forward in any slow pace or action 
it will take, the colt will be convinced that it has 
gained nothing by its efforts, and will not be 
likely to repeat its misconduct except under some 
provocation. Gradually the trainer will take 
more command over the movements of the horse, 
turning: it to the right or the left, bringing it to a 



Riding the Young Horse. 



29 



halt and resuming the forward movement, put- 
ting it into a trot and bringing it back to a walk, 
accustoming it to the pressure of the legs against 
the flanks and even to light whip-taps behind the 




___, . _„_ . „__ _ _ __ 



BENDING HEAD. 



girths to incite it to action. The hand should be 
ready but light, and the colt's head should be 
held well up. Plunging and bucking are the 
only disorders which are not due to the trainer's 
mismanagement, and these are the natural de- 



Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 



fences of the horse. The former is a coltish 
prank, which may become a fixed vice by bad 
handling ; the latter is seldom found in horses of 
domestic breeds, and is perhaps due as much to 
tight girthing and rough " breaking " as to the 
instinctive resistances of the half-wild animals in 
which the vice is commonly found. 

The precautions which I have so strongly in- 
sisted upon may seem to some readers to be greater 
than the matter requires ; but if the best results are 
to be obtained, a trainer cannot observe too much 
care in the treatment of the colt in these early 
lessons. The critical period of the colt's educa- 
tion having been passed, and the animal having 
been brought to carry its rider quietly, we must 
extend the discipline, which up to this time has 
been as little irksome as possible. 

A most important thing is to teach the horse 
to go into the bridle. Nearly every vice and 
resistance offered by a horse is preceded and 
made possible by the animal getting behind the 
hand ; that is, it refuses to face the bit, so that the 
rider's hand can find nothing by which he can 
enforce his demands. The horse is taught to go 
into the bridle by gently pushing it forward in a 



Riding the Young Horse. 



slow trot against a light but constant tension of 
the reins. In time, by proceedings which we 
shall afterwards describe, the mouth of the horse 
may be made so elastic and light that it will 
answer to the gentlest drawing of the rein, always 
giving something upon which to act, but without 
rigidity or opposition. At first I do no^t hesitate 
to give my young horses mouths rather too hard 
than too soft, and I make them hold the head 
rather higher than is necessary for the union and 
balance of the extremities. This confirms them 
in facing the bit, and insures against the usual 
habit of too low a carriage of the head. Any 
condition of the mouth may be given the horse : a 
hard hand makes a hard mouth, a light hand a 
light mouth, and a nerveless hand lets the horse 
get behind the bit, and gives no mouth. During 
these lessons the trainer, before mounting, and 
after dismounting, should make the horse elevate 
its head, and bend its head and neck to the right 
and to the left, as such exercises will aid in the 
suppling lessons of the mounted horse. To 
elevate the head of the horse, the trainer will 
stand in front of the animal, and taking a ring of 
the bit in each hand, he will, without unnecessary 



Curb, Snaffle, and Sp 



ur. 



force, extend his arms upward until the neck and 
head of the horse are raised as hisfh as he can 
reach. He should then gently lower his arms 
until the head of the horse comes to a natural 
position, placing its face about vertically to the 
ground, and inducing it to yield the lower jaw by 
gentle plays upon the bit. To bend the head to 
the left he will stand on the off-side, a little in 
advance of the shoulder, taking the left rein in his 
left hand and the right rein in his right hand near 
the rings on the bit, and he will gently turn the 
bit in the mouth of the horse so that the head is 
well turned to the left, the face placed about ver- 
tically to the ground by the tension upon both 
reins, the jaw and neck of the horse being kept 
free of rigidity by the gentle manner in which the 
bit is used. In a similar way the head of the 
horse should be turned to the right, the man 
standing on the near side in front of the shoulder. 
These exercises give control over the positions of 
the head of the horse, and make the neck and 
jaw supple, so that the animal becomes light and 
yielding to the reins when it is mounted; and in 
conducting the bending lessons, the trainer should 
take care that the head of the horse is held as 



Riding the Young Horse. 33 

high as it should be carried when the horse is 
straight, and in motion under the rider. The 
young horse must have sufficient exercise, or the 
trainer will not be able to direct and keep its 




CARRYING THE CROUP ABOUT THE FOREHAND. 

attention. Many of the disorderly movements, 
which may become vices, are due to the hysterical 
condition of the horse. Horses too fresh, and 
even old trained horses, are difficult to control 
when nervous from want of work. 



34 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

While the other exercises on foot are being 
employed, the preliminary lesson for carrying the 
croup about the forehand may be given. The 
trainer, standing at the shoulder of the horse, on 
the near side, and holding the reins under the 
chin of the horse in his left hand, should give a 
slight tap of the whip upon the left side, near the 
girths, so that the horse will take one step to the 
right with the hind legs, the forehand being held 
in place. This will throw the right fore leg a 
little in rear of its proper place for the new posi- 
tion, and it will be brought up by a tap of the 
whip. Then another step will be demanded from 
the croup, and the right fore leg be again brought 
up to its place. In this way, step by step, the 
croup will be made to go about the forehand, the 
left fore leg acting as a fixed pivot, no step being 
permitted that is not demanded. In the same 
manner, the croup will be carried to the left, about 
the right fore leg as a pivot, the trainer standing 
at the shoulder on the off-side, and holding the 
reins under the animal's chin in his right hand, 
while, with the whip in his left hand, he delivers 
the taps upon the right flank of the horse. 



CHAPTER III. 

HAND AND HEEL. — THE TROT, THE WALK, CHANGES 
OF DIRECTION. 

THE horse having been taught to go forward 
freely against a constant light tension upon 
the reins, it is proper to employ lessons which 
will confirm its obedience to the combined effects 
of hands and heels, to demand even and regular 
paces, and to increase the discipline by which we 
are to deprive the horse of volition. A brisk, 
slow trot is the best pace in which to produce 
these effects ; for until the horse is brought to 
answer every application of the hands and heels, 
we must have the impulse of a forward move- 
ment, upon which the hand may act. A very 
important rule should be observed in riding ; 
that is, the pressure of the rider's legs, or of his 
heels, must always precede any action of the hand. 
I do not now speak of the spur, for that should 
not be used until the education of the animal 
is more advanced ; and I may say here that the 



36 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

occasions when the sharp rowel may be applied 
to the well-trained horse are very rare, as the 
sensitive animal will readily answer the side of 
the heel or the pressure of the calf of the leg. If 
the young horse does not answer to the heel, the 
demand may be enforced by a light whip-tap 
delivered behind the girths. The snaffle should 
still be the bit employed, for while it is only the 
exceptional horseman who can get the best effects 
in uniting the horse from this simple mouthpiece, 
it is less harassing to the young horse than the 
curb-bit, and there is still much work that can be 
accomplished with it. The aim of the rider in 
the remaining lessons in the snaffle should be to 
teach the horse, while it maintains a good bear- 
ing, to move in free, even, and regular paces, and 
to make the changes of direction smoothly and 
correctly. The rider's heels will bring up im- 
pulses which will be directed and controlled by 
the hand. If the mouth has been made a trifle 
rigid in teaching the horse to face the bit, it may 
now be softened by using gentle tensions upon 
the reins, and by bringing the hind legs of the 
animal under the mass by the application of the 
rider's heels. Upon mounting, the rider will draw 



Hand and HeeL 37 

the reins until they take a feeling upon the mouth 
of the horse. The rider's legs will then be closed 
against the flanks, and the hand will make gentle 
vibrations of the reins until the head of the horse 
is sustained without support, and the mouth gives 
elastic response to the hand. The rider will then 
know by the movement of the muscles under him 
that the impulses are ready, and if the hand gives 
sufficient liberty, the horse will move off in a 
walk, the rider's legs demanding impulse, and the 
hand receiving and directing this impulse. In 
the early lessons, the rider should not require too 
close a collection in any pace, but the forehand 
must not be allowed to get heavy, nor the hind 
quarters be permitted to drag. A slightly in- 
creased pressure of the rider's heels, enforced by 
a whip-tap if necessary, will increase the impulse, 
which will be so directed by the hand that the 
horse shall quicken its action into the trot. The 
speed should not be very great, but the movement 
should be clean and strong, the best possible action 
in which to cultivate the use of the aids and to 
practice the union of the extremities. In this 
strong but slow trot the rider should maintain a 
regular rate of speed, demanding such collection 



3 8 Curdy Snaffle, and Spur. 

as he can without harassing the horse, but always 
having in view a clear and even pace. To turn 
to the right, the rider will increase the pressure 
of his legs upon the flanks, the left leg a little 
more strongly than the right, and draw the right 
rein sufficiently, while the left measures its effect, 
so that the body of the horse will keep true to the 
line of the change of direction. When the change 
has been effected, the reins will take an even 
bearing upon the mouth, and the same state of 
collection will be observed as that held before the 
change. The change of direction to the left will 
be made in exactly the same manner, the right 
and left aids being interchanged. To bring the 
horse to a walk, the rider's legs should first close 
against the animal's flanks, and the tension upon 
the reins be increased until the horse reduces the 
speed to a walk, when the hand will permit it 
liberty to advance in that pace, while the rider's 
legs maintain sufficient impulse to insure it being 
clear and even. The changes of direction will 
be made as in the trot. To bring the horse to a 
halt, the riders legs will first close against the 
sides of the horse, and the hand will increase the 
tension of the reins until the horse stops, when 



Hand and HeeL 39 

first the hand, and then the rider's legs, will cease 
to act. In increasing or decreasing the speed, 
the riders legs will always act before the hand, 
so that by insuring impulses from the croup, the 
hand shall always have something with which it 
may deal. In the walk and in the trot, the horse 
should be ridden in straight lines, in changes of 
direction upon circumferences of various diam- 
eters, and in figures of eight ; and for a few min- 
utes each day the animal should be put into a 
good brisk trot, as rapid as proves consistent with 
cadenced action ; that is, the impulses from the 
croup must not be so great as to throw the weight 
upon the forehand, nor must the forehand be 
so elevated, or its forces so carried back, as to 
impede the hind quarters. Whenever fresh im- 
pulses are demanded from the croup, the hand 
must receive them and measure their effects ; so 
in taking the walk from a halt, or the trot from 
the walk, the hand first relaxes the tension until 
the impulse is received, and then meets the im- 
pulse. In reducing the speed, and in coming to 
a halt, the rider's heels close against the sides, 
and the hand increases the tension upon the 
mouth, until the desired result is obtained, and 



4<D Curb, Snaffle, and Spier. 

the hand ceases to act before the heels are with- 
drawn from the sides, so that the speed is not 
decreased or the halt effected too suddenly, or 
followed by an undesired movement backwards. 
During all of these lessons, the rider should, by 
using gentle vibrations and light tensions upon 
the reins, make the mouth of the horse sensitive 
and light, his heels carrying the hind legs well 
under the mass, so that the horse may have no 
reason to hang upon the hand. The horse should 
also be made to stand quietly under its rider, and 
permit him to make movements and changes of 
position while it is at a halt. 



CHAPTER IV. 

SUPPLING AND COLLECTING. THE UNION AND 

BALANCE OF THE FORCES. 

THE resistances of the horse depend upon the 
rigidity of the muscles of the head, neck 
and back, whether intentional or due to confor- 
mation. When, by cultivating, the instinctive 
actions that follow the application of the bit and 
spur, we have brought the horse to obey every 
application of the aids, we can overcome the faults 
due to the natural conformation by giving an 
artificial carriage suited to the circumstances, and 
we can depend upon the animal yielding its will 
to the demands of the rider. For example, the 
first impulse of the horse upon the touch of the 
bit is to yield the jaw ; the second impulse is to 
avoid the restraint and to pull against the bit. 
We can cultivate the first impulse until the horse 
instinctively answers the slightest touch of the 
bit, or we can make the mouth hard and rigid. 
The first impulse at the touch of the spur is to 



42 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

carry forward the hind leg of the side upon which 
it is applied, and to bend away the croup ; the 
second impulse would be to spring forward from 
the planted hind leg. We can cultivate these 
impulses so that we can control the forces of the 
croup, and we can demand either one or both of 
the impulses. By this cultivation of these in- 
stinctive muscular actions which follow the appli- 
cation of the aids, we can readily conquer the 
active resistances of the horse, and we can correct 
the faults of conformation and carriage to give it 
the bearing best suited to controlled movements 
under its burthen. A horse at liberty might 
move with perfect ease and grace; but when it 
bears the weight of a man, and its movements are 
checked and impeded by bit and spur, it would be 
awkward and constrained in its carriage if the 
rider did not arrange the weights and forces to 
conform to the new order of affairs. The well- 
formed horse requires less aid from the trainer 
than the horse of defective structure, but all 
horses must submit to an artificial carriage before 
they can bear a man safely and smoothly. It is 
not every saddle horse that is trained according 
to an accepted " method ; ,? but whether the trainer 



Suppling and Collecting, 



43 



knew the fact or not, something of a method was 
employed before the horse was safe or easy to 
ride, and it is possible that the horse in self- 
defence sometimes picks up a proper bearing 




ELEVATION OF THE HEAD, MOUNTED. 

without the rider being aware of it. Any man 
who has " broken " a colt must have seen how 
awkward and rough-paced was the animal at first, 
and how gradually it acquired a smoother and 
better balanced mode of moving. The object of 



44 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

a systematized method is to hasten and perfect 
this change from an awkward and unwilling yield- 
ing to a quick, even, and ready obedience. 

The hand can elevate or depress the forehand 
of the horse. The heels can bring forward the 
forces of the croup to their highest powers, or 
even beyond that point, where they will be domi- 
nated by the raised forces of the forehand. Be- 
tween hand and heel the rider can place the 
weights and forces of the extremities where he 
wishes. For smooth, even, and regular paces he 
will bring the weights and forces into a point so 
near that of union and balance that those of the 
hind quarters will have such predominance as 
will permit the mass to go forward at the desired 
rate and pace. A halt will be the result of an 
equilibrium of the forces of the extremities. A 
retrograde movement will be where the forehand 
predominates sufficiently to let the mass move to 
the rear. In the same way, either extremity may 
be fixed to a spot, and any movement would be 
some form of pirouette, or a raising of the other 
extremity. 

To bring about this union and balance of the 
forces, the trainer must not only obtain control 



Suppling and Collecting* 



45 



over the forces and weights of the extremities of 
the forehand and of the hind quarters, but he 
must know how to correct the natural defects of 
the animal, so that he can readily produce what 




■jM 



POSITION OF THE HEAD. 



he desires. He must reduce the effects of the 
stronger parts, and he must strengthen the 
powers of the weaker parts. If the horse be high 
and well developed in the forehand, and weak and 
deficient in the hind quarters, i't will be necessary 



46 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

to have the head carried low enough to permit 
the forces of the croup to be brought up to a 
point of balance between them and the forces of 
the forehand, or the forehand will dominate the 
croup, or the forces of the croup will be languid, 
and there will be no unison of action. If the 
hind quarters be strong and high, and the fore- 
hand low and heavy, or weak, the head of the 
horse must be elevated sufficiently to carry back 
the forces of the forehand, and the hind legs must 
be brought under the mass to lower the croup so 
that the forces of the extremities may be in bal- 
ance ; otherwise the croup will overpower the 
forehand, and the action of the latter will be dull 
and cramped. 

The form of the animal will suggest to the 
trainer the exercises best suited to it ; and when 
the rider mounts the horse, he should soon dis- 
cover what is necessary to bring the forces into 
the so-called equilibrium. If the horse hangs 
upon the hand, and is heavy in front, the head 
should be elevated, and the forces of the forehand 
be carried back, while the heels bring under the 
mass the forces of the croup. If the action of 
the hind quarters is languid, the forehand should 



Suppling and Collecting, 



47 



be lowered, and the forces of the croup should be 
stimulated and brought up to the proper point. 

When the face of the horse is vertical, the jaw 
pliant, the spine devoid of rigidity, and the horse 




DROPPING HEAD. 



seems to grow under the rider, while the action is 
light, regular, and even, the man should know 
that the forces are collected and in the best 
possible position for obtaining perfectly con- 
trolled movements. The following exercises are 



48 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

designed to give the rider power over the forces 
of the forehand and of the croup, to enable him to 
obtain and preserve this condition, in which the 
horse is ready to obey any demand. The trainer 
may now put on the double-reined bridle to 
accustom the horse to the two bits, but there 
should be no curb-chain, and the snaffle only will 
be used. 

To make the horse elevate the head, the rider will 
separate the snaffle-reins, and draw them until he 
has a light feeling upon the mouth, closing his 
legs against the flanks ; he will then raise the 
hands so that he takes a light upward pull upon 
the reins, and brings the head of the horse as high 
as possible, the face parallel with the ground. 

From the position described in the foregoing 
paragraph, he should bring the head into posi- 
tion by gradually dropping the hands and carry- 
ing them towards his body with light vibratory 
touches upon the reins, slightly pressing the heels 
against the flanks to keep the horse up to the bit. 
When the horse curves the crest, and brings the 
face about vertical to the ground, the jaw being 
pliant and the head not too low, the rider should 
release the tension upon the reins to reward the 
horse. 



Suppling and Collecting. 49 

To make the horse lozuer the head, the rider 
should take a light feeling upon the mouth, with 
his legs closed against the flanks ; the hand 
should then be held low and a steady tension 



BENDING THE HEAD, MOUNTED. 

taken upon the reins : the moment the horse 
lowers the head, the hand should release the 
tension upon the reins, the legs be withdrawn 
from the flanks, and the animal should be re- 
warded. Then by another tension upon the 



50 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

reins, made in the same manner, the head should 
be still further depressed, and this obedience 
acknowledged. By degrees, the horse can be 
taught to lower the head until the nose reaches 
the ground. 

To assist in making the whole neck and the 
jaw supple, the rider should bend the head first to 
one side, and then to the other, until the horse can 
be brought to carry the face to the rear without 
rigidity or resistance. To make this bend, say to 
the left, the rider will put the horse perfectly 
straight, the face vertical to the ground, and the 
head carried at a natural height. Then the 
snaffle-reins being held divided in the two hands, 
he should close his legs against the flanks, the 
right leg a little more strongly than the left, and 
by gentle tensions upon the left rein, supported 
and governed by the right rein, he will give the 
head of the horse a slight bend to the left The 
object of the rider will be to obtain this by as 
light tension upon the reins as will produce the 
bend, and he should keep the head at the proper 
height, the face vertical to the ground, and the 
under jaw of the horse elastic and supple: gradu- 
ally the bend, will be made until the face looks to 



Stippling and Collecting. 51 

the rear. The rider will always carry back the 
head to the position straight with the body by 
means of the reins, not permitting the horse to 
volunteer this. In the same manner, and with 




CARRYING THE HIND LEGS UNDER THE BODY. 

the same care, the head and neck shall be bent to 
the right, right and left aids being interchanged. 

The rider should occasionally make the horse 
carry its hind legs under the body by closing both 
heels against the flanks and giving light whip- 



5? 



Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 



taps upon the rump, holding the forehand in 
place. To bring the horse into a natural position, 
the hind legs should not be permitted to move to 
the rear, but the trainer should induce the horse 




CARRYING THE HIND LEGS UNDER THE BODY. 



to advance the fore legs until the horse rests 
easily. 

Should the mounted horse be slow in learning 
this, a few lessons given on foot will soon show it 
what the trainer demands. Standing on the near 



Suppling and Collecting. 53 

side, and holding the snaffle-reins in the left hand 
under the horse's chin, the man should apply the 
whip in light strokes upon the rump ; as soon as 
a hind leg is carried under the body the horse 
should be rewarded, and the lesson then be 
resumed, and the other hind leg be brought up. 
In time the horse, mounted or unmounted, can 
be made to carry both hind legs well under its 
body. 

When the mounted horse will answer readily 
the combined applications of the whip and of the 
heels, the w T hip taps should be dispensed with, 
and the hind legs should be carried under the 
mass at the pressure of the rider's heels, while 
the hand gently keeps the forehand in place. 



CHAPTER V. 

REVERSED PIROUETTES, LOW PIROUETTES, BENDING 
HEAD IN ACTION. TRAVERS AND RENVERS. 

THE exercises described in this chapter may 
be conducted in the snaffle-bridle, or in the 
double bridle without the curb-chain, the rider 
using the snaffle-reins. The lessons will be 
begun by practice in some of the preceding ex- 
ercises, particularly in those in which the horse 
shows the least improvement, and the animal 
should be ridden in the walk and in the trot, but 
not to the point of fatigue. I may say here that 
it is an excellent practice to put the young horse, 
even after it has been placed in the double bridle, 
through the whole course of lessons from the 
beginning. 

The reversed pirouette is a movement in which 
the horse carries the croup about the forehand, 
the outer fore leg acting as a fixed pivot; that 
is, if the croup is carried about to the right, the 



Movements upon Two Paths. 



55 



left fore leg will remain upon the ground, and the 
body will go about it, the other legs taking such 
steps as to insure the movement being made 
smoothly and lightly. The reversed pirouette 




REVERSED PIROUETTE. 



prepares the horse for the gallop and the gallop 
change, supples and makes obedient the hind 
quarters, and is most useful generally in the edu- 
cation of the animal. To teach this to the horse, 
say to the right, the rider will bring it to a halt, 



56 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

and demand some degree of union of the extremi- 
ties by a pressure of the legs against the flanks, 
and a light tension upon the reins ; he will then 
bend the head slightly, to the right, by an increased 
tension upon the right rein measured by the left 
rein, and increase the pressure of the left heel 
until the croup takes one step to the right, the 
forehand held in place. If the horse volunteers 
more steps, it will be stopped by the right heel of 
the rider. Upon its taking the step to the right, 
the rider shall reward the horse by withdraw- 
ing the aids. The horse should then again be 
collected, be made to take a second step, and then 
be stopped and rewarded. In time it should be 
made to make the complete circle of the croup, 
step by step, about the forehand, the head bent 
to the right, the left fore leg in place as a pivot, 
and the whole horse light and without rigidity. 
The short steps of the right fore leg should be 
induced by a vibration of the right rein, and if 
necessary, the rider may tap the right fore leg 
with the whip, to insure its being brought up as 
the position of the mass changes. Should the 
horse not answer the left heel readily, its indica- 
tion may be enforced by the rider carrying his 



Movements upon Two Paths. 



57 



right hand behind his back, and tapping the 
horse with the whip upon the left side, just behind 
the girths. 

The pirouette reversed to the left should be 
made in the same way, right and left aids being 




APPLYING WHIP TO THE NEAR FLANK. 



interchanged. If the whip is used to teach the 
indication of the right heel in bending the croup 
to the left, it should be held in the rider's right 
hand, with the tip down, and be applied just 



58 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

behind the girths, as the right heel is giving its 
pressure. These pirouettes reversed should be 
made from the halt, until the horse is put into 
the double bridle, and the rider should insist 
upon as much lightness and regularity as he can 
demand. 

The low pirouette is an exercise for disciplin- 
ing the forehand, and in preparing the animal 
for the pirouettes in action. In the low pirouette 
the forehand is carried about the croup at the 
walk, the inner hind leg acting as the pivot, 
the outer hind leg being moved sufficiently, as 
the horse turns, to keep its proper place, with 
regard to the changing positions of the mass ; 
the head of the horse should be slightly bent in 
the direction of the movement. To teach the 
movement, say to the right, the horse should be 
united between hand and heels ; the head of the 
horse should then be slightly bent to the right, 
and the forehand moved about the croup by the 
action of the reins, the increased tension upon 
the right rein being measured by the left, the left 
leg of the rider holding the croup in place, and 
inducing the movement of the left hind leg of 
the horse ; when the half-circle has been made, 



Movements upon Two Paths. 



59 



the horse should be put straight in the new 
position and rewarded. 

The low pirouette to the left may be made in 
the same manner, the right and left aids being 




LOW PIROUETTE. 



interchanged, the head of the horse slightly bent 
to the left, the left hind leg being the pivot. 

The horse should also be practised in bending 
the head to the right and to the left, while in the 
walk, upon direct lines, and upon circumferences 



60 Ctirb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

of circles. As a rule, this bend should not be 
very great, as the rider must avoid teaching the 
horse to throw its head too far to either side ; but 
the forehand must be so supple that, should the 
rider require it, he can turn the head so far that 
the horse looks to the rear. The horse must not 
be permitted to volunteer the bend, or to bend 
further than is demanded, or to carry the head 
back to the line of progress, but the whole of the 
forehand should be under the rider's control, and 
the jaw should be light and elastic, and every 
tension upon one rein must have its effect meas- 
ured and controlled by the other rein ; that is, 
in such demands for bends and turns, there 
should always be a tension upon both reins, the 
acting rein having the stronger tension, the other 
rein guarding against too great an effect of the 
acting rein. 

We have now but one exercise remaining for 
the snaffle, the movement upon two paths, the 
forehand on one path slightly in advance of the 
croup upon a parallel path, the head slightly bent 
in the direction of progress. When, in changing 
direction in this movement, the forehand follows 
the outer path of the greater circumference, we 



Movements upon Tzvo Paths. 6i 

have the travers. When the croup follows the 
path of the greater circumference at the turns 
and changes of direction, we have the renvers ; 
that is, in the riding house, " the head to the 



■■- — «^#: f; " 


as. 




' ' mm 




- 


' : "• . A 






2 


L*— 


".', '"' . : ■ ,.,,,. ' 



TRAVERS. 



wall " upon two paths is travers, " the croup to 
the wall " is renvers. 

To teach the movement upon two paths, say 
to the right, the rider will take the horse well 
united in a walking pace, with a wall on the left 
hand : then he will slightly bend the head to the 



62 Curd, Snaffle, and Spur. 

right, and increase the pressure of his left heel 
against the flank, until the horse moves sideways, 
with its body placed diagonally across the line of 
movement, the forehand a little in advance of the 
croup, the left leg of each extremity passing in 
front of the right leg. At first, the rider should 
be content with a few steps to the side, and then 
he should straighten the horse and let it proceed 
for a short time on a direct single path. To 
make the turn in travers, the croup will be re- 
tarded upon a small circle, while the forehand is 
carried about the larger outside circle, so that, 
when the change of direction has been made, the 
horse will be in the proper position with reference 
to the two paths. By gradually extending the 
lessons, the horse should be brought to go any 
required distance in travers, the horse being light 
and without rigidity or resistance in any part, 
and being kept well up to the lines. The travers 
to the left may be made in the same manner, 
right and left aids being interchanged. Head to 
the wall should be well practised before the rider 
undertakes croup to the wall or renvers, as in the 
latter movement the rider does not have, to so 
great an extent, the assistance of the wall in con- 
trolling the position of the horse. As the aids 



Movements upon Two Paths. 63 



are used in exactly the same manner in both 
movements, the lessons in travers prepare the 
animal for the renvers. 

To make the horse perform the renvers, say to 
the left, the rider will take the animal in a united 




RENVERS. 



walk on a single path about half its length from 
the wall, which will be on his left hand, then by 
bending its head slightly to the left, and by 
increasing the pressure of the right heel, he will 
induce the horse to pass along on two paths, the 



64 Curd, Snaffle, and Spur. 

forehand a little in advance of the croup, which 
will be, by the bend given it, close to the wall, 
and in a measure guided by it. In changing 
direction in renvers, the forehand will be retarded 
upon the inner smaller circle, while the croup 
goes about on the outer larger circumference, the 
horse holding its proper position to the two lines, 
at every point, during the turn, so that the body 
will be diagonally disposed across the lines when 
the change has been made and the new direction 
is followed. 

Great care should be taken in the exercise 
upon the two paths that the position of the 
horse, its suppleness and elasticity, and its regu- 
larity of pace are observed ; as much of the 
precision and promptness with which all other 
movements may be made are dependent upon the 
discipline exacted in travers and renvers. 

It should now be a very easy matter to perfect 
the training of the horse. We have passed the 
stage where resistances are to be expected ; we 
should have the horse fairly suppled and obedient 
to the aids, with a lightness and vivacity that 
gives a very different bearing from that we found 
in the timorous and awkward colt; and when, in 
the double bridle, we can bring about the various 



Movements tip on Two Paths. 65 

forms of balance and union of the forces, the 
rider may demand and secure any movement or 
action of which the animal is physically capable. 

After the horse has been taught to pass " in 
head to the wall," and "in croup to the wall," 
smoothly and regularly, it should be made to 
perform travers and renvers away from the wall, 
when the rider must depend wholly upon the 
hand and the heels. In these movements to 
either hand upon two paths, the shoulder of the 
rider upon the side of the movement should be 
slightly retired : that is, in travers or renvers to 
the right, the right shoulder of the rider should 
be retired ; in travers or renvers to the left, the 
left shoulder should be retired. 

There is a movement practised in most armies 
called scklissen, or " closing up," in which the 
horse is made to pass to the right or to the left 
upon two paths, with the body straight across 
the line of direction ; but this is objectionable by 
reason that the horse is apt to knock its legs. 
Intervals can be readily closed by the oblique 
movements, and awkward interferences of the 
horse's legs are avoided. 

5 



part II. 

IN THE DOUBLE-REINED BRIDLE. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE UNION AND BALANCE OF THE FORCES. — IN 
HAND, THE UNION, THE HALF-HALT. 

FROM this time forth the complete double- 
reined bridle should be used, the curb-chain 
so arranged that it will fit into the chin groove 
without pinching, and yet not so loose that 
the effect of the lever is diminished. The curb- 
chain should never be changed to give a lighter 
or a stronger effect to the bit ; but any desired 
changes in the powers of the curb-bit should be 
by the use of long or short branches. For the 
ordinary purposes with horses of normal jaws 
a bit with branches measuring four and one- 
half inches from the middle of the mouth-piece 
to the fitting of the lower ring should be found 
to answer. 

The curb-bit is a lever which acts upon the 
bare bars of the lower jaw of the horse, and 
gives the rider greater power in certain ways 
over the animal than the snaffle, which does 



jo Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

not always take its bearing upon the most 
sensitive points; but the latter has a wider 
range of effect than the curb-bit, and should 
be used with it to assist the stronger instrument 
when it fails by reason of its limits. The curb- 
bit is of use in restraining and in carrying back 
the impulses. The snaffle is of use in elevating 
or in depressing the forehand, and in teaching 
the changes of direction. 

The trainer should consider the two extremi- 
ties of the horse as parts of a machine which 
should be made to work in unison. The rider's 
heels control the hind quarters and bring up 
the impulses. The hand controls the forehand 
and directs the mass, which has been united 
between the application of the aids. The forces 
of the extremities should be united as closely 
and be kept as level as is consistent with the 
movement which the rider desires to obtain. 

When a horse moves along in a shambling 
pace, bearing upon the hand or dragging its 
hind quarters, it is dis-united, and is in no con- 
dition to give quick and ready obedience to its 
rider, or even to bear him with safety. Should 
the rider demand increased impulses from the 



In Hand. — The Union. — The Poise. 71 

croup and meet these with the hand until the 
cadence of the pace becomes regular, and the 
animal moves with its head held perpendicu- 
larly to the plane of movement, its neck curved, 




IN HAND IN THE TROT. 



its mouth supple, and taking just such a tension 
upon the reins as permits the indications of 
the reins to be given, the horse is " in hand," 
the state in which the animal should habitually 
be ridden. 



72 Curdy Snaffle, and Spur. 

A still closer collection is " the union," in 
which the forces are so nearly balanced that 
the pace is very slow and the increased exertion 
of the horse is turned into action. It is best 
taught from a slow trot, the impulses from the 
croup in that pace giving the hand the means 
of bringing about the close collection of the 
forces. When the crest is curved, the jaw is 
pliant, and the muscles of the neck swell and 
play, and the horse seems to grow under the 
rider, while the pace is one in which with bold 
and high action each pair of diagonally disposed 
legs work in perfect unison, the horse then is in 
" the union," the highest form of collection con- 
sistent with motion in which there is no pause 
at each stride. The union may also be pro- 
duced in the gallop, where the pace will be one 
of four beats. The union is used in reducing 
the speed for changes of direction, as prelimi- 
nary for the half-halt, and for the production 
of brilliant action. 

When the forces are brought to a point of 
absolute union and balance under the rider 
there can be no motion, and we have the half- 
halt or poise. The horse is still in action, that 



In Hand. — The Union, — The Poise. 



73 



is, the legs are flexed ; but there is a momentary 
pause brought about by bringing back the 
forces of the forehand until they meet in 
balance the acting forces of the croup. From 




UNITED TROT. 



this poise the horse may be moved to the front, 
to the rear, or to either side, while the animal 
is still light, by the aids making some demand 
before the flexed legs are planted. As this 
half-halt requires great nervous and muscular 



74 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur, 

exertion, it can only be sustained for the moment, 
and the horse must either make some movement, 
or grow heavy or disorderly. The half-halt 
is employed in teaching the gallop changes, in 
making marked changes of directions, as in the 
pirouettes direct and reversed, and in bringing 
the horse to a finished halt from action. There 
may be intermediate forms of collection; but 
the three we have fixed upon have their uses and 
their distinctive peculiarities. For example, if 
the forces are more closely collected than " the 
union," we should have a pause in each stride, 
as is the case in the " passage ;" or if the forces 
are less closely collected than in "the union," 
we might have more action than when " in 
hand," but lose the brilliancy and the bold 
strides of "the union." 

" In hand " is, therefore, the lowest form of 
collection in which we can have suppleness and 
clear even paces. 

" The union" is where we have the closest 
collection compatible with uninterrupted motion. 

" The poise " is a half-halt, produced by bring- 
ing the forces of the extremities to a point of 
union and balance, and can be maintained for 



In Hand. — The Union. — The Poise. 75 

a moment only, when some movement should 
be demanded, while the legs are flexed, or the 
horse should be permitted to come to a finished 
halt and the aids be withdrawn. 




WIM^lWW 




HALF-HALT FROM THE TROT. 



These different forms of collection should 
be practised in the walk, in the trot, in the 
gallop, and at the halt. As has been said, it is 
easier to produce them from the trot than from 
either the halt, or the other paces, as the trot 



7 6 



Curdy Snaffle, and Spur. 



is a level gait in which the strong and regular 
impulses assist the aids in uniting the horse. 
But the rider should be able to bring the horse 
" in hand in place" after one or two lessons in 




IN HAND IN PLACE. 



the curb-bit, and in time he will be able to 
demand the closer collections without the im- 
pulses of the paces. The horse should always 
be brought in hand in place before any move- 
ment is required. The closer forms of collec- 



In Hand. — The Union. — The Poise, yy 

tion at the halt may be practised simply for the 
discipline they involve. 

It should be borne in mind that the tension 
upon the curb-reins should never be long-con- 
tinued or severe; the bridle-hand should give 
vibratory plays upon the mouth, so that it will 
be kept fresh and elastic, ready to yield to any 
demand of the reins, and never forced to a 
rigid resistance for a defence against a cruel 
use of the bit. When the horse has been so 
disciplined that it instinctively gives up all 
opposition to the bit, the animal cannot rear, bolt, 
or refuse to turn. When it has been so disci- 
plined that it instinctively answers to the spur, 
a more difficult task, the rider's will is para- 
mount in everything. 



CHAPTER II. 

INDIRECT INDICATIONS OF THE CURB-BIT. 

IN THE DOUBLE BRIDLE. 

THE trained horse should be ridden with the 
reins held in one hand, the other being 
free, to assist the bridle-hand or for any other 
purpose. It will be necessary to teach the horse 
to obey the touches of the curb-rein upon the 
neck, or the indirect indications of the curb-bit, as 
we may call them, so that the bridle-hand may 
control the movements of the horse without the 
aid of the snaffle, which up to this time has been 
the bit in which the horse has been trained. 

The trainer must see that the horse under- 
stands and obeys the direct as well as the indirect 
indications of the curb-bit, for they are not incom- 
patible, and it will be safer for the latter to be 
preceded by a slight suggestion of the direct 
touch of the bit in the manner I shall hereafter 
explain. 



Indirect Indications of the Curb-Bit. 79 



In teaching the indirect indications of the 
curb-bit, I have found the following manner of 
holding the reins very efficient: the curb-reins 
held in the left hand divided by the little finger, 
the loose ends of the reins carried through the 
hand, and held fast by the thumb against the fore- 
finger ; the hand held high or low as the horse 
requires the head to be elevated or lowered, 
the thumbs pointing towards the horse's ears. 
The right hand, carried above the left, should 
hold the snaffle-reins, and when it is necessary to 
employ the latter, the left hand will release the 
tension upon the curb-reins, the tension upon the 
curb-reins being resumed when the snaffle ceases 
to act ; that is, there should not be a tension 
upon both sets of reins at the same time. 

If the exercises described in the preceding 
chapters have been carefully carried out, the rider 
should experience no difficulty in bringing the 
horse to the various forms of collection with the 
curb-reins, particularly if he bears in mind that 
the impulses from action help the aids in uniting 
the extremities of the horse. 

To turn the horse to the right, the right snaffle- 
rein, supported and its effects measured by the 



So Cztrb, Snaffle, and Sp 



ur. 



left snaffle-rein, will begin the turn ; and as soon 
as the head bends in the new direction, the left 
hand will be carried to the right so that the left 
curb-rein will take a tension against the left side 
of the neck of the horse ; this interposition of 
the neck will give to the curb-bit an indication 
similar to the direct tension upon the snaffle- 
rein. As soon as the change has been effected, 
the snaffle-reins will straighten the horse, and 
the even tension upon the curb-reins will be 
resumed. 

In the same way the turn to the left will be 
begun by the left snaffle-rein, supported and its 
effects measured by the right snaffle-rein, and 
then the left hand will be carried to the left until 
the right curb-rein takes a tension against the 
right side of the neck of the horse. The snaffle- 
reins will straighten the horse after the change of 
direction has been made, and then the even 
tensions upon the curb-reins will be resumed. 

Of course, in these, and in all other changes of 
direction upon single lines, the horse will first be 
prepared by a closer collection, and the outside 
heel will keep the croup upon the path followed 
by the forehand. 



Indirect Indications of the Curb- Bit. 81 

In the walk and in the trot, the horse should 
be made to change direction in this manner, and 
to pass in circles of various diameters and in 
various figures, the same principles being ob- 
served. Gradually the introductory direct indi- 
cation of the snaffle-reins may be reduced and 
finally be dispensed with, the curb-reins alone 
being used in changing direction, when the curb- 
reins should be employed in the following man- 
ner : still held in the left hand, the thumb 
pointing towards the ears of the horse, the snaffle- 
reins held loosely in the left hand, divided by the 
long finger, or in the right hand, as the rider 
elects. To turn to the right, the bridle-hand will 
be turned so that the thumb points to the rider's 
right shoulder, which gives a direct indication of 
the right curb-rein ; the bridle-hand is then 
carried to the right so that the left curb-rein has 
a tension against the left side of the horse's neck, 
which gives an indication similar in effect to that 
already made by the right curb-rein. When the 
change of direction has been made, the hand 
should be dropped, and an even tension taken 
upon the two curb-reins. 

To turn to the left, the left hand should be 

6 



82 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

turned so that the thumb points towards the 
ground over the left shoulder of the horse ; this 
gives a direct tension upon the left curb-rein. 
The hand should then be carried to the left, so 
that the right curb- rein takes a tension against 
the right side of the horse's neck, which will give 
an indication similar in effect to that made by the 
direct tension upon the left curb-rein. When the 
change of direction has been effected, the hand 
should be placed in position, and an even tension 
taken upon the two curb-reins. 

By a little practice, the horse may be taught to 
elevate or to depress the head by means of the 
curb-reins in exactly the same manner as with 
the snaffle-reins ; and this practice is essential, as 
a thoroughly trained horse should be managed 
by the curb-bit independently of the snaffle, 
although it is always safe to have the latter, in 
case, through lack of discipline, the horse fails to 
obey the curb-bit in the points where its effects 
are the weakest. 

I wish to say here that I have never seen a 
" combination bit " that could supply the place 
of curb and snaffle. To properly control the 
saddle-horse, one must have the effects of the 



Indirect Indications of the Curb- Bit. 83 

snaffle, — the best bit, and perhaps the most 
ancient mouth-piece made of metal, — and he 
should have the curb-bit in connection with it. 
If a single bit is used it should be the snaffle, 
and never the other alone. I do not dispute that 
many of the patent bits may be of value for har- 
ness-horses, but they are worthless for the rider ; 
and the Pelham bit, which has for many years 
been widely employed, does not give either of 
the two principal effects for which it was 
designed. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE GALLOP. THE GALLOP CHANGES. 

I DO not put my horses into the gallop until 
they have been thoroughly disciplined in the 
walk and in the trot in the various forms of col- 
lection. It is then a very simple thing to teach 
a horse to gallop with true action in an even 
cadence. 

In the gallop, a horse goes into air from a fore 
leg in each stride ; it then plants the hind leg of 
the opposite side, then the other hind leg, then 
the fore leg of the side of the first planted hind 
leg, and finally the remaining fore leg, from which 
it again goes into air. In this pace, the legs of 
one side take advanced steps in each stride, and 
if these be the right legs, the horse is in gallop 
right, and if they be the left legs the horse is in 
gallop left; that is, in gallop right the horse 
plants the left hind leg after going into air; it 
then plants the right hind leg, then the left fore 



The Gallop. — The Gallop Changes. 85 

leg, and lastly the right fore leg, from which it 
goes into air for a new stride. 

The horse should be in gallop right in turning 
to the right, in gallop left in turning to the left, 
so that it will have a bearer under the centre of 
gravity as the turn is made. 

The gallop is called a pace of four beats, but 
in the ordinary slow gallop in hand, the second 
planted hind leg and the opposite fore leg strike 
the ground so nearly at the same moment, that 
it becomes a pace of three beats. In the school- 
gallop, or shortened gallop, the forehand is so 
supported that the second planted hind leg comes 
to the ground an appreciable time before the 
diagonally disposed fore leg, and the pace is of 
four distinct beats. In the rapid gallop the 
horse is so much extended, that we have again 
an example of four beats. 

A horse takes the gallop when the weights 
have been shifted so violently that the balance 
necessary for the other paces is impossible ; in 
the gallop the legs are brought to the ground one 
after another, and no matter how great may be 
the changes in the position of the centre of grav- 
ity, the pace can be maintained as long as the 
horse can stand up. 



S6 Curd, Snaffle, and Spur. 

The horse goes into the gallop by taking the 
weights upon the forehand, and by then carrying 
one of the hind legs under the centre of gravity, 
when it is in some form of the gallop. 

The horse is false in the gallop if it turn to the 
right in gallop left, or to the left in gallop right, 
unless the movement be intentional on the part 
of the rider, when it is called the contra gallop. 
It is also false in the gallop if the forehand has 
gallop right (or left), and the croup has gallop 
left (or right) ; that is, a cross gallop. 

To teach the horse to take gallop right, the 
rider should collect the animal in a very slow 
trot ; he should then increase the pressure of the 
left heel, and make a gentle upward play with 
the right rein. These indications of the aids will 
demand the necessary impulse, induce the proper 
disposition of the hind legs, and lighten the 
right side of the forehand, so that, as the left 
hind leg is carried under the centre of gravity, 
the horse will go into gallop right. When the 
horse takes the gallop, the aids must maintain 
the action, and the animal should be put straight 
upon the line of progress. The rate should not 
be so rapid that the horse cannot be kept in 



The Gallop. — The Gallop Changes. 8y 

hand, or so slow and languid that the animal 
will be disposed to resume the trot. The up- 
ward play of the direct rein should not be too 
marked, and it must be supported by the opposite 



■. ■ ; 

'flr 


i '- ' " .' fff" 


wmk, wmk- 





BREAK INTO GALLOP FROM SLOW TROT. 

rein, so that the head will not be displaced. In 
the early lessons, the croup will of necessity be 
somewhat bent, but as the lessons progress, the 
horse must be taught to take the gallop without 
a perceptible bend of the croup. 



S3 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

To teach the horse to take the gallop left, the 
right heel will demand the proper position of the 
hind legs, and the impulses from the croup, and 
an upward play of the left rein will prepare the 
fore legs for the proper stride ; the rider's left leg 
supporting his right leg as it gives the stronger 
pressure, the right rein measuring the effects of 
the direct rein. Of course, what has been said 
about putting and keeping the horse straight in 
the gallop right applies equally here. 

After the horse will take and maintain either 
gallop right or gallop left, in a free and even 
pace, the rider should carefully practise bringing 
it to the shortened-gallop (or school-gallop), by 
demanding a closer union ; and, in time, from this 
shortened-gallop to the "poise," or "half-halt," 
resuming the gallop before the animal has grown 
heavy in hand, and gradually making the half-halt 
(what it should be) nothing more than a " rest of 
one beat " in the cadence of the pace. 

When the horse has been taught to observe 
the half-halt, it may be taught to take gallop right 
and gallop left from " in place " in exactly the 
same manner as from the walk or from the 
slow trot. 



The Gallop, — The Gallop Changes. 89 

The horse should have long and carefully con- 
ducted lessons in the gallop, being made to 
change the rates of speed and the forms of col- 
lection at the will of the rider; and it should be 
made to gallop in circles of various diameters, 
first with the legs of the side to which it is turn- 
ing making the extended strides, and afterwards 
in the contra gallop. 

The horse should then be ready to be taught 
the gallop changes. I have said that the horse 
goes into air from a fore leg at each stride, this 
fore leg being the right in gallop right, the left in 
gallop left. It is when the hind legs are leaving 
the ground for the weight to be thrown upon this 
advanced fore leg, that the opportunity is given 
the hind legs to change their order, and when the 
fore legs are free from the ground they change 
their order, and the change is made in one stride 
without either extremity being false ; that is, in 
changing from gallop right to gallop left, the 
hind legs will change their order (so that the 
right hind leg will first be planted, and then 
the left hind leg, which has passed it, in advance 
of it), when they are free from the ground in 
some stride, the forehand having the weights; 



90 Cttrb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

and as soon as the right fore leg is free from the 
ground, it will be advanced and be again planted, 
and then the left fore leg will be advanced and 
brought to the ground, the horse going into air 
for a new stride from the latter. 

To teach the horse to change from gallop right 
to gallop left, the animal should be put into a 
very slow gallop right on a straight line. After 
some strides in this pace, the rider will bring the 
horse to a slow trot for half a dozen strides, and 
then very quietly, and without harassing or excit- 
ing the horse, put it into gallop left, by collecting 
the animal, by slightly retiring his left shoulder, 
applying the right leg, and making an upward 
play with the left rein. 

Gradually these strides in the trot will be 
reduced in number, and in time be replaced by a 
half-halt between the gallop right and gallop left, 
the aids to make the change- from the half-halt 
being applied gently but with exactness ; and the 
shoulder of the rider upon the side of the new 
change being slightly retired, so that his weight 
will be properly disposed. The half-halt will 
then be reduced until the horse makes the 
change from gallop right to gallop left in the 



The Gallop. — The Gallop Changes. 91 

beat of the pace, the horse being closely collected 
in a very slow gallop, and the increased pressure 
of the rider's right leg and the upward play of 
the left rein taking effect at the moment the 




GALLOP RIGHT. 



advanced hind leg gives its impulse in some 
stride. In very rapid gallops the horse must 
have the idea of changing before the advanced 
fore leg (in the old stride) is brought to the 
ground ; but the rider cannot with certainty 



92 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

demand the gallop changes at a high rate of 
speed ; and in the gallop, where changes may be 
produced, the principal impulse in each leap 
comes from the hind leg on the side of the 
advanced fore leg, and it is as this impulse is 
being given, that the effects of the aids for 
demanding the change should be felt. 

During these lessons in changing from gallop 
right to gallop left, a similar method should be 
followed in teaching the changes from left to 
right, both changes being taught in the same 
order ; that is, both sides of the horse should be 
equally practised in the lessons with the trotting 
strides between the changes, and in the lessons 
with the half-halt between the changes, and in 
the lessons where the changes are made in the 
beat of the pace. 

To produce the changes smoothly and evenly, 
the trainer must be satisfied with very slow pro- 
gress : the slight motions of the rider's body 
being gently made, and the aids applied neither 
abruptly nor roughly. 

After the horse will make the changes per- 
fectly at any desired stride upon straight lines, 
the rider should practise the changes in gallop in 



The Gallop. — The Gallop Changes. 93 

turning from a circle on one hand to a circle on 
the other hand, taking care that the change is 
made as the turn to the other hand is demanded ; 
for, in turning abruptly from a circle on one 




GALLOP CHANGES. FROM RIGHT TO LEFT. 

hand to a circle on the other, the horse will often 
try to begin the change with the fore legs, and 
this is not only a false movement, but it is dan- 
gerous, as there would be no support under the 
centre of gravity in making the turn. Of course 



94 Curb, Snaffle, arid Spur. 

this objection holds good for the contra gallop, 
but that when made intentionally is made with 
care, and by giving it something of the character 
of the renvers the rider may reduce the risk. 

It will be a mere matter of skill and practice to 
make the gallop changes at any stride, or even at 
every stride. 

It is important that the body of the horse 
should be kept straight in both gallops, and the 
bend of the horse in making the changes should 
be imperceptible ; the motions of the rider's body 
as he retires the right shoulder for gallop right, 
the left shoulder for gallop left, should also be 
slight, the seat from the waist to the knees being 
undisturbed, and with a little practice he can 
shift the weights by muscular movements in such 
a manner that he will not have the appearance of 
having changed his position. The less obvious 
the motions of the rider in controlling the horse, 
the higher will be his skill. 

The contra gallop, that is, turning to the right 
in gallop left, to the left in gallop right, should 
often be practised during the lesson in the 
gallop changes, so that the horse shall not volun- 
teer an undesired change when a turn happens 



The Gallop. — The Gallop Changes. 95 

to be made. Until the horse becomes clever on 
its feet, these changes of direction in the contra 
gallop may be made in renvers (upon two paths) 
as the horse will be less apt to fall in the event 
of a mistake. 



CHAPTER IV. 

TROT AND GALLOP. TRAVERS AND RENVERS. 

PIROUETTES FROM ACTION. LOW PIROUETTES. 

THE PIROUETTE VOLTE. 

I^HE horse should now be ridden in the travers 
and renvers in the walk and in the united 
trot, both to the right and to the left, upon 
straight lines and upon circles, half-circles, and 
other figures, changing from travers to renvers 
and from renvers to travers, the proper bend of 
the head being always demanded, and the diago- 
nal position of the body of the horse with refer- 
ence to the parallel paths being observed. In 
turning from travers to renvers, or from renvers 
to travers, large circles should at first be followed, 
to be gradually reduced until the movement 
becomes a low pirouette, or a pirouette reversed, 
the horse having been very closely collected for 
abrupt changes of direction. 

In riding the horse in the shortened, or united 
trot, a very high state of union and balance 



The Pirouette Volte. 97 

should be demanded, the increased action taking 
place under the horse, the pairs of diagonally 
disposed legs working in perfect unison, and the 
horse being supple throughout. In all the side 
movements in this trot the leg of the rider which 
demands the movement should give accentuated 
pressure as the fore leg of the opposite side is 
being raised and extended, in order that the 
diagonal action may be obtained and sustained 
by the movement of the hind leg on the side of 
the acting heel ; it being understood that the 
other heel of the rider always measures and con- 
trols the effect of the heel giving the accentuated 
pressure. 

At first, the snaffle-reins must assist those of 
the curb-bit in demanding these movements upon 
two parallel paths ; but the use of the former will 
be gradually dispensed with in the manner before 
described : the indirect indications of the curb- 
rein being always preceded by a tension upon the 
direct curb-rein. That is, in bending the head to 
the right to pass to the right, the bridle-hand will 
be turned towards the rider's right shoulder, to 
give a direct tension upon the right curb-rein, 
and then carried over to the right so the left 

7 



98 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

curb-rein will be brought against the neck of the 
horse : in bending to the left to pass to the left, 
the bridle-hand will be turned so that the thumb 
points to the ground over the left shoulder of the 
horse, and it should then be carried to the left, 
so that the right rein will take a tension with the 
right side of the horse's neck intervening. 

While upon single direct lines in the united 
trot, the horse should be practised in the reversed 
pirouettes from that pace. 

If, in the united trot, the horse be passing 
upon a single straight line, and it be desired to 
move in the opposite direction, the rider will 
bring the animal to the half-halt, bend the head 
slightly to the right and fix the forehand in 
place, while his left leg carries the croup about to 
the right in the beat of the trot : when the 
reversed pirouette is so far made that the horse 
faces in the new direction, the animal will be put 
straight, the balance between the forces be 
resumed by a reduced tension upon the reins and 
by demanding renewed impulses from the croup 
(which must be met and measured by the hand), 
and the horse will go back upon the path by 
which it came in the same form of trot, without 



The Pirouette Volte. 



99 



having grown heavy or disunited. The reversed 
pirouette left will be made in a similar manner, 
by carrying the croup about to the left, the 
head bent to the left. 




PIROUETTE VOLTE. 



All of this work upon two paths, in the walk 
and in the trot, prepares the horse for the pirou- 
ette volte, the most important movement for the 
mounted soldier that we can obtain from the 
horse. The trooper who can wheel his horse in 



ioo Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

the gallop has a less skilled adversary at a great 
disadvantage ; and in everything connected with 
the mounted soldier, the bridle-hand makes the 
sword hand effective or of no avail. 

For the galloping movements upon two paths, 
the pace should either be the school gallop or a 
slow gallop of three beats. 

After the horse is fairly well accustomed to 
pass on straight lines, and to make the ordinary 
changes of direction of 90 in the travers gallop, 
it should be brought to make the travers in the 
gallop, to either hand, upon the whole circles of 
large diameters, gradually reducing these. The 
work upon the circles should not be continued 
for any length of time at any one lesson, and the 
circles should not be much reduced too rapidly, 
or the horse will become heavy and constrained 
in action. 

The diameters of the circumferences about 
which these movements in the travers in gallop 
are made will in time be reduced, until the croup 
passes about a circle so small that the inner hind 
foot treads on a central spot, and we shall have 
the pirouette volte. 

The demi-pirouette volte will then be demanded 



The Pirouette Volte. 101 

from the gallop on a single path in a straight line 
in the following manner. The horse being in, 
say gallop right, the rider, on reaching the point 
where the turn is to be made, will demand a half- 
halt, retire his right shoulder, throw back the 
weights to keep the croup in place, carry the fore- 
hand about, and resume the gallop back over the 
line upon which the horse has just passed. By 
practice, the half-halt can be so much reduced as 
to be barely perceptible, and the pirouette volte 
will be made almost in the beat of the pace. 

The full pirouette volte to the right is made in 
the same manner, except that the turn is com- 
pleted, and the horse is brought in a series of 
gallop strides, the inner hind leg treading in the 
centre of the circle about which the body turns, 
to face in the original direction. 

By a similar means, right and left aids being 
interchanged, the demi-pirouette volte and the 
full pirouette volte will be made to the left from 
gallop left. 

The horse should also be made to pass in 
circles in the gallop in renvers, the head towards 
the centre, the forehand, slightly retarded, upon 
the inner circumference. 



102 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

Whenever, in the gallop upon the two paths 
an abrupt turn or change of direction is to be 
made, the horse should be brought to a half-halt, 
and if the turn requires a change in the gallop 
(from right to left or from left to right), the gal- 
lop change should be effected when the half-halt 
is made ; for it must be borne in mind that in 
passing to the right the gallop must be right, in 
passing to the left the gallop must be left. 

For example, if the horse be in travers gallop 
to the left, and it is desired to go back over the 
same lines, in travers (or in renvers) left, at the 
point where the turn is to be made the rider will 
bring the horse to a half-halt, throw back the 
forces to fix and hold the croup, carry the fore- 
hand about to the left until the body of the horse 
is properly placed with regard to the changed 
direction, and resume the gallop left upon two 
paths in the direction whence the horse has come. 
Or, if the horse be in the gallop left upon two 
parallel paths, and it is desired to pass back in 
gallop right over the same lines, the rider, upon 
coming to the point where the change of direction 
is to be made, will bring the horse to a half-halt, 
change from gallop left to gallop right, throw 



The Pirouette Volte, 103 

back the forces to fix and hold the croup, carry 
the forehand over to the right, so that the body 
of the horse will be properly placed across the 
parallel paths, and pass to the right, in travers 
(or in renvers) in gallop right. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE UNION WITHOUT THE REINS. 

WITH every horseman there may be occa- 
sions when it will be important that his 
bridle-hand should be free, and that he should be 




UNION WITHOUT REINS. 



The Union without the Reins. 



x °5 



able to depend upon his horse maintaining the 
speed, action, and union, of the moment in which 
the tension upon the reins is released. It is also 
excellent discipline, on general principles, to ac- 




UNION WITHOUT REINS. GALLOP. 

custom the horse to move in a regularly cadenced 
pace, without the support of the hand. 

This union without support can be readily 
taught a horse which has been brought to carry 
itself in the various forms of collection, by drop- 



106 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur, 

ping the hand for a moment when the horse is in 
hand, or more closely united, and resuming the 
tension upon the reins before the animal loses its 
lightness or has increased its speed, the rider's 
heels acting before the tension upon the reins is 
resumed, to insure the impulses. This momen- 
tary dropping of the hand will be exchanged by 
gradual steps for longer periods of unsupport, 
until the horse, once in hand or more closely 
united, will hold its state of collection and main- 
tain the same speed for an appreciable time. 
The lessons should first be given in the shortened 
trot, and when the horse is thoroughly disciplined 
at that pace, it may be taught in the same man- 
ner to move without support in the gallop. I 
have schooled horses, without any great labor, to 
make the gallop changes with the reins loose 
upon the neck, by bringing the horse to observe 
the half-halt without support when the body of 
the rider was bent backwards, and by gently giv- 
ing the indications for the change with the spur 
at the moment the half-halt was made. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE HALT FROM THE GALLOP. THE USE OF 

THE SPURS. 

THE too constant use of the spurs will deaden 
the sensibilities of the horse, and render 
it dull and sluggish. Every saddle horse should 
be taught to bear the attacks of the spur with 
complacency, but the occasions when the sharp 
rowel is required on a well-trained horse are 
very rare. The schooling of a horse renders it 
quick and vivacious ; some horses show so 
much mettle and life that their obedience 
appears wonderful to the uninitiated ; yet that 
very vivacity is one of the results of schooling, 
and the animal is taught to be ready to obey 
the most gently given demand with precision 
and alacrity. The mare which I rode for the 
illustrations of the advanced lessons in this 
book, shows quick and vigorous movements ; 
but she has not been touched with the spur 
three times since she was taught to bear its 



10S Curd, Snaffle, and Spur. 

attacks, and she is now at least fifteen years 
old. 

The best time for teaching the horse to bear 
the spur is during the early lessons in the double- 
reined bridle ; for by that time the animal has 
learned something of the indications of the 
rider's heels, and should have great confidence 
in its trainer. On some occasion when the hind 
quarters require stimulating, the rider should 
give a slight scratch with the rowel of one 
spur, and then calm the horse if it shows sur- 
prise or excitement. Later, it should, under 
similar circumstances, be given a slight scratch 
with the other spur, and again be calmed. 
Gradually it should be taught to take the spur 
attacks, first of one spur, and then of both 
together, with the same complacency with 
which it bore the pressure of the bare heels; 
the opportunity for doing this can be found 
in the exercises on two paths, and in those 
for demanding the various forms of collection. 
After the horse has been taught to receive 
the spur attacks quietly, the aid may be applied 
by pressing the side of the heel against the 
flank of the horse, and the spur-scratch should 



The Halt from the Gallop. 109 

be given only when the severer form of the 
aid seems to be required. The spur should 
never be used with force, or in punishment. 

It is highly important that horses which are 
to be employed in the cavalry, should be taught 
to come to an immediate halt, even from high 
rates of speed. This can be effected without 
danger of injury to the animal, if the proper 
precautions are observed. The theory is, that 
when the hind legs are carried in under the 
mass, in any stride, the forehand is raised and 
its forces are carried back, while the weights 
and the returned momentum are received by 
the hind legs when they are in the best position 
for taking the shock. 

It is a very simple matter to teach the horse 
to come to a finished halt in any gallop stride, 
and all of the lessons in collecting are pre- 
paratory for it; but it should not be practised 
until the animal has been thoroughly trained in 
everything recommended in the preceding chap- 
ter, as the rider requires the fullest obedience. 

The rider should first practise the horse in 
coming to a halt from the walk (the horse 
being well collected) by pressing in both heels, 
leaning back in the saddle, and raising the 



no Curd, Snaffle, and Spur. 

bridle-hand, so that the horse will come to a 
stop with the hind legs well under the mass. At 
the moment the halt is effected the hand should 
release the tension upon the reins, and the heels 



HALT FROM THE GALLOP. 

should be withdrawn from the flanks, and the 
horse be permitted to rest. 

In the same manner he should bring the 
horse to a halt from the trot. He may then 
practise the horse in coming to a halt from 
the gallop, at first putting the horse into a 



The Halt from the Gallop. in 

slow united pace. As the forehand is about 
to take the weight in some stride, he should 
quickly press both heels against the sides of 
the horse, lean back in the saddle, and raise 
the bridle-hand. The result of these move- 
ments will be that the hind legs will be carried 
under the mass, and be planted so that they 
will receive the shock of the sudden halt; and 
when the fore legs again reach the ground the 
horse will be stationary. The rider should then 
lower the bridle-hand and withdraw his heels 
from the flanks, and the horse will be at rest. 
By gradual lessons he may teach the horse to 
come to a halt from higher rates of speed, and 
even to come to a half-halt or to a finished halt 
in any stride by the pressure of the heels and 
the bending back of the body, without making 
any use of the reins. 1 It was by a combination 
of this exercise, and of that of the preceding 
chapter, that I was able to make my horses 
perform the gallop changes without the use 
of the reins. 

1 " He went at a gallop straight at the wall, only stopping 
when the rider brought him up with the spurs just as his nose 
would have touched the bricks." — Account of the Training of 
Alidor. London Times, June I, 1883. 



CHAPTER VII. 

BACKING. 

THE preliminary lessons in backing — that is, 
those given on foot — may be followed at 
any time after the horse has been put into the 
snaffle-bridle ; but the horse cannot be taught to 
back smoothly and lightly under the rider until 
it has been carried as far in its training as the 
gallop in the double-reined bridle. 

With a little care, the horse may be made to 
go backward with action as level and regular as 
in the forward movements, and to make turns 
and changes of direction with the same precision 
as if advancing. The first lessons are to be given 
with the trainer on foot. Standing at the near- 
side of the horse, he should grasp with his left 
hand the snaffle-reins at even lengths under the 
horse's chin, and with his right hand give a whip- 
tap upon the animal's rump. As soon as an im- 
pulse is procured, he should carry his left hand 
towards the chest of the horse, so that the leg: 



Backing. 



ll 3 



or legs being flexed will take a step to the rear, 
instead of to the front ; this one step having been 
taken, he will again tap the horse upon the rump, 
release the tension upon the reins, and let the 




BACKING. THE IMPULSE. 



horse take a few steps forward without its coming 
to a full halt. Then he should demand two or 
more steps to the rear, and require a few steps 
forward before the horse is allowed to get heavy 
or come to a halt. These steps to the rear may 



1 1 4 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

be practised until the horse will go any number 
of steps backwards, lightly and smoothly ; but a 
forward movement must always be demanded 
before the horse rests. A tap of the whip on 
either flank while the horse is backing will make 
a change of direction opposite to the side upon 
which the whip-tap is delivered. To make the 
horse turn to the left in backing, the trainer may 
stand on the off-side of the horse and take the 
reins in his right hand, the whip in his left, or he 
may reach over the back of the horse and apply 
the whip to the off-side of the animal. These 
lessons in backing should be given from time 
to time, with sufficient frequency to insure that 
the horse does not forget that which has been 
demanded. 

After the horse has been confirmed in obe- 
dience to the effects of the curb-bit by the 
various lessons up to the gallop changes, the 
trainer should teach it to back when he is mounted. 
He will bring the horse in hand in place, and 
give an increased pressure of his legs against the 
animal's flanks. The moment an impulse is 
secured, he will carry back the forces of the fore- 
hand, and decrease the pressure of his heels, so 



Backing. 



^5 



that the horse will step to the rear with the leg 
which is flexed ; and the step having been taken 
to the rear ? he will close his legs against the 
flanks, and decrease the tension upon the reins 




BACKING. 



so that the horse will move forward. By degrees 
the horse will be made to go any distance to the 
rear, the rider taking care that the horse is per- 
fectly straight, and that it does not lose its light- 
ness. In backing, the rider must never let the 



1 1 6 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

horse get from under the control of his heels, 
which should be held close to the side, to regulate 
the speed, and to enable him to demand the for- 
ward movement at any step. To change direc- 
tion in backing, there will be an increased 
pressure of the rider's heel on the side opposite 
to the change, and a slightly increased tension of 
the rein of the same side ; that is, in changing 
direction in backing to the left, the right heel of 
the rider and the right rein will give the increased 
effects. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



JUMPING. 



ALL horses intended for saddle uses should 
be taught to jump willingly and confi- 
dently. The usual practice of chasing a mounted 
horse over a long bar by the threatening motions 
of a lashed whip held by an assistant cannot 
accomplish that which a horseman should desire. 
A horse " trained " in such a manner is not only 
very apt to become a " refuser," but it is so 
hurried and excited that it is impossible that it 
should jump with precision and safety. I teach 
my horses to jump over an obstacle so narrow 
that the temptation to avoid it by going off to 
one side or the other is offered, and when it once 
is disciplined to go directly for the obstacle, the 
idea of refusing a possible jump, or of running 
out, does not present itself to the animal's mind. 
One of the gates I use with trained horses is but 
fourteen inches wide, and this is taken, without 
an effort to avoid it, by a horse which was the 
most difficult to discipline of any of the animals 



1 1 S Curb, Snaffle, and Sp 



ur. 



I have handled for the past five years. The 
horse I employed to illustrate my method for this 
chapter was a young mare that had never been 
asked to face an obstacle until it came into my 
hands, and I was still riding it in the breaker's 
saddle, as a precaution against plunging,- for 
which I suspected it had a predilection ; yet in the 
second lesson I rode it over a hurdle less than 
four feet wide, and it made no attempt to avoid 
the jump. 1 

I do not call upon a young horse to take leaps 
higher than three feet, as the animal must not be 
discouraged ; but as it becomes stronger and 
more confident in its powers, the trainer may 
raise the obstacle to any reasonable height, with a 
certainty that the horse will make the attempt, 
and that it will have possession of its wits in 
avoiding a mistake. One of my horses (Alidor) 
became so clever in jumping that I frequently 
rode it over "doubles " without reins, and it never 
made a mistake, either in or out of the school. 

1 This mare was put to jumping much too soon, as it had no 
mouth, and but little discipline ; but I had no horse that was just 
entering the lessons in the double bridle, so I had either to take an 
old schooled horse, or one of the green fillies I had selected for 
illustrating the early lessons. 



yumping. 



119 



During the lessons upon the longe, the horse 
should be exercised near the gates and hurdles so 
that it may become accustomed to them. When 
the horse is ready for its lessons in jumping, 




LEADING OVER THE BAR. 



which may safely be begun at the end of the 
work in the snaffle-bridle, the trainer should lead 
it over a bar that is not more than a foot in 
height; and after the horse will follow over it 
quietly, the animal should be made to pass the 



120 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur, 

obstacle in the longeing circles, or at the length of 
the reins, while the trainer stands at one end of 
the bar. Gradually the bar should be raised until 
the horse must give a smart jump to pass it. 
From time to time the animal should be encour- 
aged and rewarded, and should it attempt to avoid 
the bar it should be at once led back, and be made 
to understand that there is but one way of proceed- 
ing, and that directly over the obstacle. It must 
not be punished, but a light tap of the whip may 
be given to stimulate the impulses, and the jumps 
should be cleanly and quietly made. Colored 
rugs, bushes, and other objects which would 
usually frighten a horse if it were made to face 
them without some preparation, should be placed 
against the bar until the horse will jump any- 
thing the trainer's mind can devise (I used to 
longe Alidor over a pony), the man being careful 
not to require too much effort on the part of the 
horse, and not to fatigue or dishearten it. 

The horse should now be ridden over the 
obstacles, first as in the lessons in hand, being- 
walked over the low bar, and then being trot- 
ted up to the bar raised to a height of twenty- 
four to thirty inches, so that it must give a true 



Jumping. 



121 



jump to get over. The snaffle-bit only should be 
used in these early lessons, and the tension upon 
the reins only sufficient to guide the horse to the 
obstacle. The man should make no effort to 



~ T~~ — -- 




— i^ 1 


ft --B f ^ 




: : ; , 






■ ■■■.' . 





JUMPING IN HAND. 

raise the horse, or to indicate where it is to take 
off for the jump ; and in landing, the animal 
should receive a very slight support from the 
hand. Any rough treatment, particularly any 
severe use of the bit, will be disastrous. The 



122 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

horse should look upon the leaping lessons with 
pleasure, and it should be rewarded for every 
well-made jump. 

When the horse jumps fairly well from the trot, 
it should be brought to the obstacle in the walk ; 
then it should be taught to jump perfectly from 
the halt. The horse should not be ridden over 
obstacles in the gallop until it has been taught to 
gallop well in the double-reined bridle. 

As the horse approaches the obstacle in the 
walk, the trot, or the gallop, it should be gently 
united, so that it may exert all that are necessary 
of its powers ; and upon alighting, it should again 
be collected to proceed in exactly the same pace 
and speed with which it approached the obstacle. 
The higher the obstacle the slower should be 
the pace, the more closely united should be the 
forces, and the more vigorous should be the ac- 
tion. In a broad jump the speed should be rapid 
enough to give momentum, but it should not be 
so fast that the horse cannot collect itself for the 
exertion. The most difficult thing in jumping is 
to determine exactly how much assistance the 
hand should afford as the horse alights ; the ten- 
sion upon the reins should never be so great as to 



Jumping. 



123 



impede the horse in its efforts to land safely, and 
yet if the horse seeks some support it must find 
it. Should the horse ever refuse a leap, or get 
into the habit of jumping carelessly, it should be 




THE FIRST LEAP OF A YOUNG HORSE. 

put back to the early lessons. But it will be the 
fault of the rider if a horse once properly trained 
ever becomes disorderly in leaping. 

Only riders with the firmest of seats and the 
of hands should use the curb-bit 



lightest 



in 



124 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

jumping. In case of a fall in jumping the rider 
should keep his hold upon the reins, at least until 
he is assured that he is free of the stirrups. It is 
better to run the risk of being stepped upon by 
the horse than to be dragged by the stirrup, and 
the rider should never part from his horse if it 
can be avoided. 



CHAPTER IX. 

VICES, TRICKS, AND FAULTS. 

I HAVE been training horses for many years, 
and I have failed to observe in them any 
traits of character which might be designated 
as noble, or which showed anything above a 
very low order of intelligence. The horse is 
so nervous and apprehensive that it never com- 
pletely gives its confidence to man, and it 
exhibits more of the reasoning powers in its 
defences and resistances than in the direction of 
obedience. Fortunately the horse is a creature 
of one idea, and until we can obtain control 
over it by discipline, it is possible to thwart its 
malevolent intentions by a counter-attack. I 
am far from saying that all horses are naturally 
vicious ; but I do say that the horse does not 
voluntarily obey the demands of its master, and 
that he who depends upon its willing obedience 
is in a precarious position, unless it be from 
a heartless drudge that has lost all visions of 



126 Curb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

freedom. Restraint and control must be irk- 
some to all animals, and it is natural that the 
high-spirited horse should attempt to escape 
restraint and control. It is in the injudicious 
endeavors to combat these efforts of the horse 
to avoid the tyranny of man that the vices, 
tricks, and faults of the animal have their 
origin. If in its early mutiny the horse is 
foiled, it will soon forbear; but one success 
will be remembered through scores of defeats. 
When discipline has become a second nature 
to the horse, the man can depend upon its 
obedience, until by accident or carelessness 
the animal is shown by what a slender chain 
it has been enslaved. It is far more difficult 
to restore discipline with these spoiled horses 
than to establish it from the first in the 
unbroken colt ; but it is not impossible. 

It is when it is in that state of nervous 
irritability known . as "freshness," from want 
of work, that most of the disorderly conduct 
of the horse has its beginning. A horse that 
is "fresh" should be treated with great care; 
and if it gives a few plunges when first mounted, 
or is shy of objects with which it should be 



Vices, Tricks, and Faults. 127 

perfectly familiar, the rider should not punish 
it, but should rather take little notice of its 
misconduct, and push it forward in a brisk 
trot until it becomes more composed. He may 
turn its head away from that about which it 
shows fear, and in this manner he can make 
it pass anything. A shy horse should never 
be made to face the object that affrights it, 
until it has lost its fear. 

Should the animal begin to misconduct itself 
while the man is mounting, he should have 
it led forward and vault into the saddle while 
the horse is in motion, or have a leg up from 
the attendant who leads it. When the horse 
is calmed by exercise, he should bring it to a 
halt, and mount and dismount until he assures 
himself that the horse will stand quietly for 
such purposes. Should the horse have the 
habit of being restless while being mounted, 
the man should make it extend itself by 
placing the fore feet far in advance of their 
normal position when the animal is at rest, and 
by then handling the horse, pulling upon 
the stirrup-leathers, and bearing his weight 
upon his arms placed on the saddle. Then, 



128 Ctirb, Snaffle, and Spur. 

letting the horse take its natural position, he 
should quietly mount in the usual way, and 
walk the animal off. 

Should the horse turn its croup to one hand 
or to the other, and leave the line of progress, 
its head should be pulled over to the side 
towards which the croup is bent ; this will 
straighten the horse, and the desired direction 
may then be taken. 

Should the horse stop and wheel to the 
rear, the rider should at once make it com- 
plete the wheel, while its opposition is to 
the other hand; and when the animal is straight 
in the original direction, he should push it 
forward in any pace that it will take, gaining 
a composed and regular pace when he can. 

Should the animal come to a halt, lower its 
head, gather its legs under the body, and arch 
its back, the rider should not attempt to force 
it to move, for it will certainly bolt, and perhaps 
" buck." By quietly moving either the forehand 
or the croup to one side or to the other, he 
can induce the horse to let down the back 
and raise the head, when he will be able to 
move the horse slowly forward. 



